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[MarkR]

Thanks Scott and Jackal for taking the time to give me some input. Jackel i reworked the design and i just couldn't find a way to make a bigger burn chamber so i will let you know how many times a day i have to walk out to the OWB.  Scott i am looking at @ 130 gallons of water content and i have recently acquired a large LP tank i may use for water storage. I've been busy at work so not much has progressed until the last week or so. I now have the main and secondary chamber welded together as well as the heat transfer tubes. The water vessel is cut and i am now ready to drop the chambers/exchangers into the 500 gallon tank. I will post my progress as well as some pics in a few days.   

[MarkR]

Ok here they are. i just started welding so that should explain it all. haha The first picture is the tank with three holes cutout. one for the burn chambers, one for a clean out, and the other for the exhaust. The second picture is a tease as to what it will look like in a few weeks, and the last is a shot of the exchangers. I went with 20 1.25" and 4  2" tubes for the transfer tubes. All are just under 5 foot long. I am getting ready (hopefully tomorrow) to get the cherry picker and drop the inner vessel in and tack it all together.

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[Scott7m]

Looking good buddy, keep the pics coming

[vpd66]

Is that an old fuel oil tank? Are you going to use the flue tiles for liners? Just trying to understand how your building it.

[MarkR]

yes i am using an old 500 gallon oil tank as the water vessel and a cut down 275 as the burn chamber. i am insulating the burn chamber with refractory cement and i plan on using the flue liner as my secondary chambers. i know this is not the best way to build a wood boiler but i am using things that i have found here and there , basically its a guinea pig and when this one craps out i will have a better idea of what i like and dislike.

ok i finally got the burn chamber into the water vessel. i used a cherry picker, a few spare hands and about 4 hrs. some things didn't line up so we had to use the plasma cutter and kept whittling away until we got it to fit satisfactorily. started welding it in tonight and i have to say I'm getting pretty excited to make this kind of progress. 

i have pictures and will post them in the next few days.

[MarkR]

oh and i am starting to think about how I'm going to introduce air into the boiler for my primary and secondary burn. i planned on adding air under the fire and on the lower end of the wood and I'm on the fence as to where I'm going to blow air into the secondary. maybe run it on top in the chamber and then elbow it down into the floor of the firebox. any suggestions would be appreciated.

[MarkR]

ok here are a couple pics of the exchanger installed, and a shot of the exchanger tubes and the future location of the bypass pipe. I'm bringing this hunk of metal to a guy i know that has an exhaust bender this weekend. I'm hoping to get some input as to where others have installed air tubing with success.


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[MarkR]

until i figure out how to resize these pictures this is it.....it could take a while.

[MarkR]

Ok i have managed to weld up most of the tank and the air tubes are figured out. Going to finish the air tubes  and start working on the front plates and doors. heres a better picture of my exchanger and a picture of them before they were welded into the outer tank.

[MarkR]

haven't posted here in a bit but here are some pics and i will try to update since the last post.

[MarkR]

I finished my air distribution box and did a few test runs, very happy with the end product. takes over two mins for the door to open so i am working on some way to delay the fan a bit. hind sight is 20/20 but i should have gotten an actuator that had an end switch so i could make and break contacts for the fan.
i also cut out a small piece of exhaust tube and welded it to a rectangular pipe for the primary air. i plan on cutting holes or slots into the bottom to feed the coals with some nice fresh air. i will fabricate the pipe for the secondary once i have the firebrick in place.
and finally i put together the stack hood and figured out how to incorporate the bypass flapper.
now that i have the boiler pressure checked with air and has held water for two days its time to start closing this thing up.
this is my first gasser, there are a lot of things i would change but as my day would say "the cake is already baked" so i will finish it and start planning on a new one maybe. haha

[MarkR]

havent posted here in a bit but i finally got her running. the nozzle on the right side is a bit clogged but i think i have it figured out. could use some constructive criticism.
 http://youtu.be/7MQ80_DMiCI

[dwneast77]

I'm impressed!!

[walkerdogman85]

Looks real nice a buddy of mine and I are going to build him a owb. Great job